Codex of the Multiverse
by hunter 139
Summary: This is a document that details the history and composition of the factions in the multiverse. Multicrossover between several different franchises.
1. History

**Since I plan on making all my stories connect to a singular interconnected multiverse, I might as well get the basic history, factions, characters and technological advances out now, so any references I make to events or factions in other stories make a little more sense.**

**This is a metafictional document detailing the history of my multiverse and several important events. I'll probably add more chapters that explain the composition and goals of the major factions in the multiverse.**

**Due to the changing nature of some of these franchises, expect possible retcons.**

**Note: I don't really have a clear timeframe down on events, but everything that I've written down below is in chronological order.**

**Inspired by 'Beyond Contact: Codex' created by RiptideZ.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Mass Effect, Metroid, Killzone, the Alien and Predator series, Bionicle, Halo, Red vs. Blue, Young Justice, Dead Space, Half-Life, Portal or Titanfall. However, all original content is mine.**

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_Authors notes are italicized in brackets_

History

It is unknown when the Precursors first came into being, but the common estimate is hundreds of billions of years. During their existence, the Precursors became aware of universes beyond their own, and some left to experience them. At roughly the same time when the Precursors created humanity in their own universe, those in the universes outside found, to their shock, humanity developing within other universes, all without Precursor intervention. This was at part of the reason that they chose humanity to attain the Mantle over the Forerunners. This led to their downfall, and the creation of the Flood. At some point, the Precursors in their home universe became the Flood and consumed an unknown number of galaxies and species, possibly numbering in the billions. In time, a massive body composed of Flood biomass and Precursor artifacts was created over and through a massive galaxy with a diameter of over a billion light-years, becoming the heart and mind of all Flood in existence.

This Galactic Gravemind (_seriously, I need a better name for that), _soon became aware of the countless alternate realities that existed beyond its own universe and sought to consume them all. However, any portals created by it would not permit Flood DNA to pass through, which was the result of Precursors who travelled beyond the bounds of their home universe. They sacrificed themselves to seal access, halting the spread of the Gravemind's organic Flood. However it had other means of corruption, mainly a method that the Forerunners would eventually call the 'logic plague'.

In one universe, the Flood observed an AI that was designated as "the Catalyst" pondering a solution to the task it's creators had set: Preserving life at any cost. Using subtle manipulation, the Gravemind influenced the Catalyst into choosing to melt down organic and synthetic civilizations into sentient AI starships known as the Reapers, while using their creators as the first Reaper. However the corruption wasn't done: The Gravemind also had the Catalyst unknowingly write a subroutine into the Reapers that caused them to replicate conventionally. These copies became a second armada that hid between galaxies and would only activate if the Gravemind ordered them to.

The Gravemind then sent it's spiritual influence into the universe of the Chozo, driving the X-parasites into a frenzy, where the Chozo found them corrupting everything on the planet SR388. It also metaphysically extracted a large amount of Phazon into a pocket dimension, which would allow the Gravemind to resurrect Dark Samus under it's thrall when Phaaze was destroyed.

Reaching into the universe that housed the Force, the Gravemind observed a group called the Ones who embodied aspects of the energy. Sensing a weak soul in the Mother/servant, the Gravemind convinced her to drink from the Font of Power and bathe in the Pool of Knowledge, creating the dark being known as Abeloth. It also influenced the war between the Silentium and Abominor, thus creating the Yuuzhan Vong's pathological xenophobia and hatred of technology.

After continuing it's manipulations and attacking the humans and Forerunners in it's own universe, the Gravemind learned that a cross dimensional faction had been created consisting of individuals who were aware of it's ongoing manipulations. This Ancient faction foresaw that the Flood would be destroyed by a godlike being born as a human, and while the Gravemind did not believe that that would actually happen, it reached into another universe and influenced the creation of devices known as the Markers, which contained a form of Flood DNA that would survive any targeted extinction attempts, and allow the Gravemind to transfer its consciousness to a species known as the Brethren Moons and the Necromorphs.

Millennia after the end of the Forerunner-Flood War, several universes (_Star Wars, Halo and Mass Effect are the main three, but also Metroid, Killzone, Alien vs. Predator and more)_ made contact with each other and started sharing knowledge, technology and eventually territory. Major factions in these universes joined with others and formed a group called the InterDimensional Alliance (or the IDA for short)*. However, due to the distrust between several members, conflicts broke out and tensions remain high after the fact.

Two humans, who gained godlike powers through unknown means, eventually split off from the IDA and went their own way to form two different organizations: the Republic* and the Separatists*. The Republic became known as the most advanced and powerful organization in the multiverse, with the Separatists following close behind. The two sides became locked in a massive war over opposing ideologies: the Separatist Ruler believed that they should rule the multiverse, while the Supreme Commander of the Republic believed that they had a duty to protect the multiverse.

During the Republic-Separatist war, IDA space suffered incursions from Separatist forces that were always repelled by the Republic. Though they retained diplomatic ties and dealings with the Republic, the IDA did not trust them and sent out exploration missions in the hopes of finding a way to protect themselves from both galactic superpowers.

Unfortunately, the IDA encountered an outbreak of the Flood, and the subsequent infestation gave the parasite access to perfected interdimensional transport technology: the Gravemind could now spread to other realities.

Fortunately, the Republic and the Separatists became aware of the problem early on, choosing to put aside their differences in order to effectively combat the parasite. In a five year long war that resulted in the destruction of many worlds and the discovery of the artifacts of the Ancients, the Great Flood War culminated when the Allied forces fought off the Flood long enough for the Supreme Commander of the Republic to unleash his power throughout the multiverse.

Channeled through the artifacts, the energy destroyed every Flood form and Precursor artifact in the multiverse, effectively wiping the parasite from existence. However, the artifacts were destroyed in the process, and this was not the end of the Gravemind.

After years of rebuilding, the Republic and the Separatists resumed their conflict. During that time, the two superpowers encountered a universe that contained an Earth filled with unusual beings. Designated Earth-16, these 'metahumans' and aliens had divided themselves into collections of superheroes and supervillains, known as the Justice League (and their sidekicks in Young Justice) and the Light (and their network of supervillains) respectively. The Light and their agents sided with the Separatists as did their partner Darkseid and the planet Apokolips. In response, the Republic allied with the Team and the Justice League and sought out Apokolips' counterpart New Genesis, successfully bringing them into an alliance.

Meanwhile, in the galaxy of the Force, Darth Maul and his brother Savage Opress resurfaced with plans to conquer the multiverse, gathering a large army of criminals (the Shadow Collective)* to help with that goal. Like the IDA, they began searching for a way to overcome the Republic and the Separatists, but were manipulated into reawakening the Gravemind through its backup plans.

As the Brethren Moons woke up, the Gravemind's consciousness overrode the Moons, forcing the species to become the reincarnation of the Flood. Knowing that the Necromorphs had limitations in piloting ships and using weapons, it activated the hidden armada of Reapers that had been forged a long time ago, calling on them to protect the Moons. Because it still required intelligent servants for subtlety, the Gravemind allowed Unitologists to join it's cause, and permitted the Shadow Collective to stay uninfected.

With their help, the Gravemind accessed it's hidden supply of Phazon, allowing Dark Samus to reconstitute after her death during the destruction of Phaaze. Given that it controlled the only supply of Phazon left in the multiverse, the Gravemind forced the Dark Hunter to follow its will.

The Gravemind couldn't hide its return for long: the Republic had found more warnings that had been created by the Ancients indicating its previous actions. Though the Republic was too late to prevent the Gravemind's return, they and the Separatists had nevertheless prepared countermeasures to fight the Necromorphs and the Reapers; including a network of long range probes that could track Marker signals and Reaper IFFs across intergalactic distances in any dimension and modifying their fleets to produce planet destroying energy beams.

Once again forced to be allies, the Republic and the Separatists chased the Necromorphs down, destroying Moons and Reapers wherever they find them, forcing the Gravemind to keep moving. 3 years after being revived, a time capsule appeared in a remote asteroid field: this device contained DNA and spores of the original Flood species, which had been protected from the extinction event due to it being sent forward in time.

The Gravemind initially intended to breed the Flood in secret, but the Shadow Collective had other ideas: During an important battle with the Gravemind against the Republic and the Separatists, the Shadow Collective turned on the Moons and Reapers; destroying a large number of them in the process. This was planned by Darth Maul so that enough Moons would be destroyed to wound the Gravemind so it wouldn't be able to pursue them, but not enough that it would allow the Republic or Separatists enough respite to follow him either.

This is the state of the multiverse today: the Republic and the Separatists hunt down and fight the Flood, Necromorphs and Reapers, the Shadow Collective hiding and plotting behind the scenes in IDA territory and the Gravemind continues scheming and consuming in order to finish what it started.

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**This is the basic history in my multiverse, but please review and let me know if you want to learn a bit more about my factions. If I get enough reviews, I'll add more chapters to this story.**

**Note: one of the most common advancements in this multiverse is the ability to extend almost anyone's lifespan indefinitely, or at least decrease the effects of aging.**

*** Means I'll likely add more detail about these factions, their histories and their capabilities in later chapters (also, Republic and Separatists are placeholder names). **


	2. Republic

**Important Notice: To make this clear, almost every story I've made and will make takes place in this basic universe/multiverse, unless I note otherwise. Also any characters who are alive and/or working with groups they normally wouldn't work for can be chalked up to resurrection and/or Rule of Cool.**

**Anyway, the Republic and the Separatists each get their own chapter: **

**First up...**

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The Republic  
(_not actually the name, but a placeholder until I can think of something better)_

The Republic is the premier superpower in the multiverse, spanning the Milky Way galaxy (_actually a mixture of several all rolled into one, but anyway_) and territory beyond that. The government and military is headed by a human with the powers of a god, (_I'll just get this out of the way; he's a bit of a self-insertion)_ though he himself would deny that, and other important individuals include Wolf (_the Predator from_ _AVPR), _Samus Aran (_who wears the Metroid Prime 2 and 3 Varia Suit)_, Zayne Carrick (_from the KOTOR comics_), a man who has access to all of the elemental powers from Bionicle, except Light and Shadow, two brothers who have the ability to increase the firepower of any weapon they hold (_for this reason, they wear what resembles a cross between Iron Man and Mandalorian Armor), _and a couple with superintelligence, among others_. _

It has the most powerful military in the multiverse who serve as peacekeepers (made up of multiple species from different universes) and which consists of trillions of highly trained and well-equipped soldiers, billions of warships and some of the most advanced technology ever created. The Navy is headed by Grand Admiral Thrawn (_because he's awesome, that's why)_, who has been upgraded with mental enhancements derived from Forerunner technology. These enhancements allow him to coordinate dozens of engagements consisting of thousands of ships simultaneously.

Republic naval forces consist of millions of warships and billions of fighters. The largest class of warships are Republic mega-dreadnoughts, which are roughly the same size as newer model Forerunner Fortress-class vessels (_so, a little over 100 km in length)_ and consist of similar and in some cases, superior weaponry. They have approximately 1000 ships of this class, and millions of other ships of various sizes, shapes and models. Weaponry for space combat is primarily derived from GA (_Star Wars_), UNSC, Mass Effect, Galactic Federation and Forerunner technology, resulting in dangerous and lethal weapons to any who oppose them. All ships are equipped with cloaking devices, along with an increased amount of weapons and enhanced shielding when compared to other conventional militaries. Starship energy shields consist of two overlapping shield layers, allowing one fallen layer to recharge while the other takes renewed punishment (_thank you Andrithir). _Republic warships are also extremely robust due to the fact that all critical components are stored in pocket dimensions, protecting them from enemy fire. And because ammunition, food and fuel supplies are also stored there, it means that Republic warships can be completely self-sufficient indefinitely.

Onto ground forces: one common infantry soldier in the Republic army is worth one special forces soldier in almost any other military, their armor, which is similar to MJOLNIR Mark VI Spartan armor, is equipped with energy shields to protect the wearer and can also adapt to any environment the wearer is placed in. Standard issue weapons are a combination of projectile and energy weapons, and can be switched between the two at a moment's notice. All soldiers have enhancements that basically make them super soldiers, and with their technology, some of them can get elemental powers, though it is completely voluntary, the powers are usually low-level elemental abilities and it requires special training afterwards (due to the non-biomechanical nature of the applicants). Spec Ops forces have the ability to summon their armor using a similar technique to Samus Aran's Varia Suit. Multiple species make up their forces with the Predator species (_I have a soft spot for the Predators)_ being among the best. Because of them, personal cloaking tech is common throughout the top tier Republic soldiers.

Ground vehicles consist of fast and mobile tanks, walkers and air support equipped with energy shields. They can be deployed on the ground instantly from within their home ships when first strike teams establish teleportation devices to allow them to be deployed instantly. The standard issue weaponry for absolutely everything (infantry, armor and space weaponry) consists of railguns, mixed with energy weapons and hard light (_with 3 settings: firing energy bolts ie. blaster or plasma bolts, kinetic rail gun rounds or a mixture of the two: railgun rounds enshrouded in plasma energy, usually the latter). _All dropships are equipped with cloaking devices to allow stealthy deployment to any planet. Orbital drop pods are used to enable rapid landing on any battlefield.

There are 1 trillion combat ready soldiers in the Republic Marine Corps, which isn't counting the army, navy and special forces. While they are often equipped with the best equipment provided, some either choose not to or go with more primitive weapons and armor, knowing that state of the art doesn't mean everything. Military training consists of learning techniques to shield oneself from telepathy and torture, which is also useful in resisting mind control. Because of all of this, the Republic Military is a mobile and versatile force that can adapt to any situation or conflict.

Currently, Republic territory expands the entire Milky Way galaxy along with access to the Empire of the Hand's territory and support in the Unknown Regions. Notable planets include the Predator and Xenomorph homeworlds, Earth, Nirauan, and their Capital of Spherus Magna, which currently houses the main bases of the Aqua Magna islands. Currently housed under the reconstituted island of Mata Nui is the Aperture Science Laboratories and the Archives which are used for Scientific and research purposes.

The Republic has an open immigration policy to anyone who wants to join their society, though they have to pass thorough background checks. Since these checks consist of using lie detection techniques such as telepathy and the Kanohi Rode (the Mask of Truth), enemy spies and organized crime rarely get a lasting foothold into Republic territory. Citizens are given freedom and security from outside threats and crime and racism/speciesm are not heavily prevalent. Republic society is a form of meritocracy that recognizes all sentient life, and not just organics: Any droid or artificial intelligence program is considered a full citizen with all the rights and freedoms that entails (as long as they don't try to organize a robot revolution of course, though that's never happened) and even some Yuuzhan Vong, Yahg, Jiralhanae and one of the surviving San'Shyuum are citizens of the Republic. The standard of living is high for everyone and the economy is secure from outside influence (_it's a combination of the best parts of every government while cutting out the worst: the multi-species government and military of the Galactic Alliance and Galactic Federation combined with following the Mantle of Responsibility of the Forerunners). _Citizens of the Republic prosper in this society, knowing that there are no hidden catches (_By the way this whole paragraph__ isn't meant to be propaganda, it's_ _true, though I probably didn't need to go to this level of detail_).

The Republic have also gained the alliance of the Justice League and the Young Justice team on Earth-16, as well as the planet New Genesis from the same universe. Wally West or Kid Flash as he was known, was thought to have died during a mission. However, three months later, he was found to have been displaced into a pocket dimension and he was still alive. He was quickly rescued from that fate and both he and Artemis Crock (later Artemis West) were offered a part-time job at the Ark (_Because w__hy not? They're semi-retired superheroes and have an impressive level of scientific knowledge, and I think they would enjoy the opportunity to study advanced alien technology_). The Republic often calls upon the League and the Team whenever the Separatists employ the Light and their supervillains as their own agents. Similarly, New Genesis is usually called only when Darkseid and Apokolips are involved with the Separatists.

The Republic is currently looking for Forerunner artifacts and facilities and have found and repaired one of the most important: Installation 00 or as it's better known; the Ark (_which has been rebuilt to it's state before the ending of Halo 3_), which now serves as not only a scientific study but also as a staging area, shipyard and launching station for the Flood, Brethren Moon and Reaper tracking probes. They also share joint access to Shield World 006 with the UNSC, and in agreement with them, in exchange for access to the Ark, the UNSC gets custody of the remaining Halo rings. Due to Samus Aran's previous experiences on Aether, the Luminoth also work closely with the Republic on scientific and military research.

They have also seeded many intelligence agents on a number of worlds, who are basically trained similarly to super spies, are assigned to intelligence gathering and they also keep watch over infiltration by Separatist agents and Shadow Collective agents in a variety of locations.

The Republic is the government that holds and follows the teachings of the Mantle, in a way that was superior to the original way that the Forerunners and ancient humanity did (they allow any and all other species that want to join to do so, and they do nothing to hold back or depower any other organizations, unless they are being a threat to someone else).

Technology

In addition to the military technology mentioned above, The Republic have developed significantly as an advanced civilization: Mastering the ability to replicate limitless food and supplies, storing technological components and supplies in pocket dimensions, freeing space and insulating them from damage (_such as storing a warship's main reactor inside a pocket dimension, protecting it from critical damage or sabotage and effectively allowing bottomless magazines and limitless supplies),_ moving entire planets or star systems to different sectors or even dimensions with no negative consequences (_they technically don't move from their original position, and instead the area of space around them is wrapped in a large dimensional gate that blocks any transport from the exterior of the gate to the planet, but allows easy passage to the nearby systems of the new locations (which is how Republic territory consists of several planets from different universes in the same galaxy) and a larger version of this prevents easy access to their territory) _and huge leaps in medical advances.

For instance, they've created the means to agelessness and even have the technology to revive someone from death (_it's heavily limited though; requiring fairly dedicated technology, a corpse that's relatively intact, and they can only be dead for about 10-15 minutes for optimal results). _They also have translation technology that can instantaneously translate another's language (based on the Kanohi Rau, the mask of translation), resulting in a variety of spoken and written languages throughout Republic space.

Much of this scientific development stems from reverse-engineered Forerunner technology, the study of Energized Protodermis and the help of the Supreme Commander's powers.

Combat Doctrine

The Republic military focuses on rapid, stealthy, and surgical strikes into enemy territory. To this end, they deploy mobile and adaptive infantry on the ground via stealth dropships and drop pods. Once that's done, the infantry will either surge forward and capture their objectives before their enemy knows what hit them, or they will hold defensive positions and set up teleportation pads, allowing armor, air support and ground troops to teleport directly to the surface, bypassing air and orbital defenses, and deploying an army right into the heart of an enemy fortification. Republic dropships are capable of short-range FTL jumps, that allow them to deploy infantry close to the battlefield while bypassing most forms of orbital and anti-air defenses.

Republic soldiers tend to operate in squads of mixed species, allowing flexible and unique tactics to be utilized at an individual level. The Yautja tend to be an exception, as the Predators are often deployed behind enemy lines to wreak havoc on unsuspecting foes. Many special forces teams contain at least one operator with elemental powers to serve as unconventional combat specialists, using shock and awe tactics. Almost every ground soldier in the Republic is equipped with some form of active camouflage and a short range jump jet for increased vertical mobility (in addition to dedicated jet pack soldiers).

Each Republic soldier is equipped with an emergency teleportation device, allowing for rapid exfiltrations from the battlefield. Due to technical limitations, they can only be used once before requiring a lengthy recharge period. They also only use predetermined locations, preventing someone from just teleporting around the battlefield (_this only applies when they aren't in Republic Space. In military installations on the homefront, it's a different story)_.

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**AN: Wow, I've had this concept for years now, and I still can't believe how insane this all sounds. **

**That's not to say the concept has been static for all that time; I have a tendency to change or add ideas if I encounter a new story, or an old franchise is updated, so expect retcons from time to time.**

**For instance, some of the tech, weapon and ship ideas for this faction are based off of Andrithir's Lost Legacy story (which I would recommend reading).**

**In regards to soldiers with elemental powers, they only have the abilities the Toa from Bionicle have, and even then, they can't do everything a Toa can. Due to the organic nature of the volunteers, elemental power usage can drain one's energy quickly, and requires recharging afterwards. Overuse of these powers can also prove harmful to the wielder in the long run.**

**Also, when I said I have a soft spot for the Predators, don't worry, they'll still be the murderous hunters we all know and love; the main difference is that they now mainly target people who actually deserve to be skinned alive.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	3. Separatists

**Alright, and here's the chapter on the Separatists, the Republic's primary opposition. Truth be told, the Separatists primarily exist so the Republic can't just roll in and fix every conflict, but it also provides me with the opportunity to band together some really cool evil factions.**

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The Separatists  
(_Like the Republic, it's a placeholder name)_

The Separatists are made up of individuals whose primary goal is conquest of the multiverse. Their leader (_who I don't really have a name for)_ is considered to be the second most powerful being in the multiverse (_after the leader of the Republic)_. He is nevertheless considered to be a God to his subjects. Despite his goal and some of the company he keeps, the Separatist leader genuinely thinks that the people of the multiverse would be better off with him ruling it, though he knows the Republic would never allow that, leading to a long civil war between the two superpowers.

Separatist space consists of most of the Andromeda Galaxy, which is heavily rich in resources to fuel the fires of their war machines. Important worlds to the Separatists include their Capital (_basically a brand new planet not in anything else, which houses the Separatist palace/government building), _Helghan (_post-Shadow Fall), _the Space Pirate Homeworld, and Apokolips (_from the Young Justice universe)_. They do have soldiers and supporters from multiple species, but it isn't as widespread as the Republic.

The military leader is General Grievous who has been given similar mental enhancements as Grand Admiral Thrawn. The primary armies are composed of Helghast, Space Pirates, the Light's supervillain society (from Earth-16) a huge military composed of advanced battle droids, plus a few PMCs mixed in. Their technology is considered to be inferior to the Republic, though it is generally superior to everyone else's. They make up for this by forcing the Republic into dealing with civilian casualties while they have no such reservations. Notable individuals include Kai Leng, the ex-Cerberus assassin (_who's anti-alien tendencies have been toned down and his loyalty is now solely to the Separatists)_, Ridley (_who has been upgraded with cybernetics, though not to the same extent as the original Meta Ridley; think Prime 3's Meta Ridley)_, Project Freelancer operatives, including the Meta and Carolina (_assume she's brainwashed)_, and Colonel Radec, who is in charge of defending Separatist space.

Separatist naval forces consist of upgraded and technologically advanced versions of Helghast cruisers (normal and Arc cruisers), Space Pirate battleships and frigates, and millions of warships and billions of fighters. The most powerful vessels are Separatist super-dreadnoughts which are more than two thirds the size of Republic mega-dreadnoughts (_so about 70 km in length_). Not all Separatist warships are equipped with cloaking devices but every vessel is equipped with sensors that can detect cloaked vessels. The Warworld serves as an incredibly powerful weapon when called on to support the Separatist armada, and carries within it, an army of battle droids and a fleet of warships.

The backbone of their ground forces (besides Helghast, Space Pirates, and the Light's forces) are composed of a cross between Spectres (_the robots from Titanfall) _and Forerunner armiger (_Like the Promethean soldiers from Halo 5 Guardians)_ humanoid robots, which are set to disintegrate when destroyed in a similar manner to the Prometheans. These robots are fast, strong, intelligent and versatile, making them dangerous opponents, and the Separatists can produce a lot of them. Almost all Separatist military forces are also equipped with energy shield generators, which have the same strength as Minor Elite shields during the Human-Covenant War. Like the Republic, the majority of their armor and air support is equipped with energy shields.

The Separatist military primarily consists of said combat droids, which form the backbone of their armed forces, but they also consist of MK II droidekas which are produced in much smaller numbers, and also use a variety of other robotic forces such as their own designed heavy battle droids (_that are essentially a cross between YMIR mechs and Phase II dark troopers_). These forces are primarily commanded by Grievous and are supported by an armada similar to the original Separatist navy. Huge automated droid foundries set up across the resource-rich Andromeda galaxy (_I don't know if that's true in reality)_ are responsible for the creation of such a large military force.

The Helghast make up the slightly more intelligent and versatile army and navy and also serve as another main military force usually in charge of territorial defense (_equipped with the armor and drones of Killzone Shadow Fall)_, while the Space Pirates (_The Metroid Prime versions, specifically Prime 3)_ serve as the more powerful and elite forces and scientists to the Separatist military. The Light (_Their costumes are the same as the show, with the exception of Deathstroke, who's costume resembles the Arkham Origins variant*****)_ and the Freelancers serve as the special forces and are used for key attacks. Meanwhile the Warworld serves as a powerful superweapon and the planet Apokolips and their leader, Darkseid, serve as another source of weapons and personnel if needed.

The Separatists often employ the Light and their agents as special forces for critical tasks. In return, the Separatists supply them and Apokolips with weapons and technology to help them succeed in their goals of conquering their universe. This is often hindered, as the Republic often recruits the Justice League and the Team to stop the Light's plans with the Separatists. Also, due to the help of the Separatists, the Light were able to create the Arkham Knight and make him their servant**.

Finally, the Weyland-Yutani Corporations serves as another scientific institution for them and also is a source of Xenomorph bioweapons that they manage to breed. With the help of Separatist technology, Weyland-Yutani is able to control xenomorphs (_for once)_ and they're often used as either first strike or area denial weapons. They gained control of them by implanting nanomachines into a Queen Mother's brain, which were replicated in every subsequent xenomorph spawned. The nanotech tricks the xenomorphs into thinking that anyone with a Separatist IFF code coming off them is part of their hive, and therefore a target to be ignored. Because of the nanotech, the Company can also issue specific instructions to individual drones, effectively hijacking their hive mind (though that is rarely used). The controllable Xenomorphs used by the Separatists are generally bred/cloned rather than spawned from different hosts, to keep from wasting valuable lives as hosts for the parasitical aliens. Human-born xenomorphs are still the most common breed used by the Separatists.

Civilians in the Separatists generally agree that ruling over the multiverse would be for the best and therefore support the aims of their ruler. Their people are generally treated well (even slaves are treated with respect and dignity and are eventually allowed citizenship in the Separatist government) and follow their ideology with fanatical zeal. Like the Republic, they generally have an open immigration policy to those who want to join them, along with a battery of advanced psychiatric and lie detector tests to root out attempted spies and infiltrators.

The Separatist military has similar doctrines to the Republic in regards to soldiers and warships. They have similar technology and weaponry to the Republic (combination of projectile and energy weaponry) but are still less advanced than them: The Separatists prefer quantity while the Republic prefers quality. Despite that, they are still more advanced and powerful than every other organization in the multiverse.

Technology

Despite lacking access to a fair amount of Forerunner artifacts (_t__hey do have access to Forerunner tech, but not to the same extent as the Republic) _and energized protodermis, the Separatists still have a godlike being leading them that helps with scientific advancements. They also make extensive use of Petrusite, and synthetic Phazon of their own creation (_It's weaker than the normal version, but it's also easier to control, it doesn't cause brainwashing or mental degradation and is more stable than the original substance_). Though they outnumber the Republic 3-to-1, it's genuinely considered an even fight by both sides, since 1 Republic foot soldier or combat ship is generally a match for 3 of the Separatist equivalents. Despite that, they are still considered to be the second-most powerful organization in the multiverse, and like the Republic, don't believe that hyper advanced tech will defeat all of their enemies, and so are quite willing to allow skilled and less advanced individuals into their armed forces to serve them. Also like the Republic, the Separatists also have the ability to move planets and star systems behind dimensional field gates, preventing easy access to their territory.

The Separatist Droid Army is protected from hacking by advanced software blocks: preventing any large scale hacking attempt and ensuring that any override tricks carried out by their enemies will not work the same way twice. This even allows resistance to the Gravemind's logic plague, as any viral infection is found immediately and quarantined off, simultaneously initiating self-destruct procedures in the infected droids.

Combat Doctrine

Like the Republic, the Separatists prefer rapid, surgical strikes against enemy targets. Unlike the Republic, they have a tendency to forgo stealth in favor of shock and awe, demoralizing their opponents before they can put up a solid defense. To this end, drop pods are often deployed first, depositing squads of battle droids onto the surface of the planet. However, these heavily armored (_heavy weapons are required to destroy them_) pods contain teleportation devices, allowing constant robotic reinforcements to be deployed to the battlefield (_these pod teleporters are only effective with robotic troops)_. While these troops occupy the attention of the defenders, the stronger and organic forces of the Separatist military are deployed via dropships, catching their opponents in a vice. Like the Republic, the organic troops will prepare teleportation pads, allowing armor, air support and ground troops to be deployed directly to the surface. Dropships are also capable of short FTL jumps from orbit to the battlefield, allowing them to bypass most orbital and air defenses.

On worlds the Separatists really want to capture, the main strike force will prepare large teleportation pads on the ground, allowing for the deployment of Helghast MAWLRs to the battlefield. Unlike their Republic counterparts, the main forces of the Separatist military will be organized into single species squads. However, they will be deployed with other squads consisting of a different species, allowing a different level of tactical flexibility. Like the Republic, all Separatist infantry forces are equipped with short-range jump jets for increased vertical mobility (in addition to the already specialized jet troopers), with the exception of xenomorph bioweapons. Xenomorphs are often deployed as either first strike, area denial, or terror weapons, and on occasion, will be used as attack dogs.

Similarily to the Republic, Separatist soldiers are equipped with emergency teleportation devices, allowing quick exfiltration from any battlefield. However, they are limited to organic soldiers and the less common robotic troops, leaving the expendable droids and the xenomorphs behind to fight to the death (_this only happens during rapid extractions, otherwise they're retrieved with everyone else). _

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***I just cannot take YJ Deathstroke's ponytail seriously, and I think the Arkham Origins costume looks better anyway.**

****_spoilers for Batman Arkham Knight: _It's essentially an accelerated aged Cadmus clone of Jason Todd, but while the original died and was resurrected as Red Hood, the Arkham Knight serves the Light and the Separatists, serving as a field commander for the Light's military forces.**

**It occurs to me that both organizations were very much like the Star Wars organizations; the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems at their prime and with scaled up power.**

**Having said that, I'm open to suggestions for better names for each of these organizations. If you have an idea, leave it in a review.**


	4. Other Factions

**Well, this chapter will cover some of the other factions in the Multiverse, mainly the Flood, the Shadow Collective and the IDA.**

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Other Factions and History

The Flood

A parasitical race created from the remains of a godlike species known as the Precursors, their only goal now is to butcher and consume all other life in the multiverse. The leader of the Flood is a massive Gravemind, that consumed and became a galaxy that was a billion light-years across. This abomination is either directly or indirectly responsible for most of the threats that have plagued the multiverse (_Read the stories _The Mantle _and _Gods and Demons _for more detail)_, and the Flood's most active and destructive role was during the Great Flood War.

This conflict began when explorers from the IDA stumbled across a Flood-infested Forerunner site. The ship was carrying an interdimensional hyperdrive, which was quickly captured and reverse-engineered by the Gravemind. This allowed the Flood to spread all over the multiverse, infecting and destroying thousands of inhabited worlds.

At that point in time, the Republic and the Separatists were engaged in a massive conflict, but the reality-warping infestation prompted the Republic and Separatist leaders to call a truce and ceasefire to deal with the problem. The two untrained gods led the counterattack against the Flood in a five year long campaign that culminated when the Supreme Commander of the Republic used artifacts left behind by the Ancients to focus most of his power on the Flood and Precursor artifacts, wiping them from the Multiverse.

This was not the end of the Gravemind, however: it had planned for this event in advance and when it's body was destroyed, put those plans into effect. Biding it's time until someone found them, the second armada of Reapers was unintentionally reactivated by the Shadow Collective. Subtly manipulated by the Reapers and the effects of the Markers, the Shadow Collective activated the signal that awoke all of the Brethren Moons from their hibernation. Once again unleashed on the multiverse, the Gravemind used its collected Phazon to resurrect Dark Samus under it's control.

Joined by Dark Samus, Unitologists and the Shadow Collective, the Gravemind was caught in another struggle against the Republic and the Separatists, who had noticed its return as the Reapers and the Necromorphs, and had technology and weapons readied accordingly. Using unique probes that could track the sigantures of the Markers and Reapers, both sides hounded the Moons, destroying any they came across with planet-destroying weaponry.

The Republic and the Separatists also developed shielding that could protect people from the mind-control and insanity-inducing effects of Reaper Indoctrination and Marker-induced dementia. It isn't a 100% effective though, as the signal can be manipulated to break through the shielding. The Gravemind was often forced to focus any mental attacks on the two gods themselves, because they could easily destroy any Moons they came across (_under the principle of how a laser works... I assume. Light on its own does nothing, but focus it enough and it will burn through anything. Same principle; Dementia can't effect billions at once, but Gravemind can force it to affect 2 people)_. Shortly after returning, the Gravemind had its servants create a new vassal for its consciousness that could fight on relatively even terms with the two leaders (after mentally attacking them to weaken their control over their powers), using a combination of a regenerating Necromorph, Force-induced spells, magic, Phazon and other means.

Two years after that, the time capsule the Gravemind had launched forward in time had arrived, which prompted it to recreate the Flood in secret. However, that secret was forced into the light when Darth Maul, having acquired some of the mental shielding created by the two superpowers, rallied the Shadow Collective to strike a critical blow against the Flood during an important battle against the Republic and the Separatists. Wounded, but not defeated, the Gravemind keeps scattering the Moons as it plans a way to strike back against its enemies.

Currently known (past and present) servants of the Flood include the Necromorphs, the Reapers, Abeloth, Dark Samus, Hive (_from the MCU_) and the surviving Unitologists from their universe.

Shadow Collective

A crime syndicate founded and led by the Sith Lord, Darth Maul and his brother Savage Opress, the Collective was initially (in)famous for being the catalyst that would reawaken the Gravemind through the Reapers and the Brethren Moons, and then choosing to side with them against all other life. However they would gain considerable respect among the criminal underworld several years later, when they betrayed and severely hurt the Necromorph advance during a crucial battle in the Cold War, shortly after the Gravemind started reconstituting the DNA of the original Flood.

The Shadow Collective consists of the Death Watch members loyal to Darth Maul, Black Sun, the Pyke Syndicate, and the army and navy of the Zann Consortium. Since their betrayal of the Gravemind, they've started recruiting or absorbing more criminal organizations into their fold (_read the Omega Chronicles for more details)_.

Intention's Eye

A Covenant Remnant faction led by Jiralhanae Shipmaster Laccabeus. Consisting of the Assault Carrier _Intention's Eye _and it's entire complement of infantry, vehicles and structures (_effectively totaling up to a sizable army_), Laccabeus' crew are one of the last surviving Covenant factions in the multiverse after the Great Flood War. During the early days of the multiverse, the _Intention's Eye_ was a thorn in the side of the developing IDA. That all changed when they took on the Supreme Commander of the Republic (before the Republic existed) in his early days. In the end, Laccabeus was forced to retreat from the multiverse at large, terrified of the godlike Supreme Commander (_read the story _Intention's Eye_ for more details_).

Laccabeus is unusual for a Jiralhanae and a Covenant commander, in the fact that not only does he allow Sangheili to follow him loyally, he is also surprisingly kind to the Covenant warriors that serve under him, and they in turn, would willingly give up their lives for him, instead of being forced to fight and die out of fear. Due to his earlier reputation of fighting the Supreme Commander, rumors abound that the _Intention's Eye _is/was an incredibly powerful superweapon. These rumors are false.

First Order

A Private Military Corporation under the trappings of the former Galactic Empire, the First Order desires to restore Imperial order to their galaxy before branching out to the rest of the multiverse. Despite their ambitions, the First Order is barely able to scrape by, taking jobs in parts of the multiverse that even the Shadow Collective can't be bothered with (_Just to be clear, this is not the First Order of the new movies. It's meant as a bit of an homage, but the primary Star Wars canon I'm using is still the Legends continuity_).

The First Order's forces consist primarily of a single customized Imperial-class Star Destroyer and a few Imperial escort carriers. They make up for their lack of naval strength with their advanced infantry troops, which consists primarily of Shadow troopers, Terror Troopers, Storm Commandos and Phase Zero and Phase I Dark Troopers. They also have an occasional alliance/partnership with the Sith Vestara Khai, who has become a mercenary after the Great Flood War and the destruction of almost every Sith Order in the galaxy.

Combine Empire/Universal Union

An interdimensional empire, the Combine Empire once contained the largest amount of territory in the multiverse (_either because they completely conquered entire universes, or only conquered a couple planets per universe, either way, it stills add up to a large amount of species and planets_). During the early days of the Republic and Separatists, they noticed the dimensional disturbance caused by the universes interacting and attempted an invasion. This failed, largely due to the technological advantage the two intergalactic superpowers had, but also because of the two gods who led them.

The Combine retreated, convinced to leave the two superpowers alone. Unfortunately, they also attracted the attention of the Flood. During the early days of the Great Flood War, the Gravemind made a deal with the G-man to launch a sneak attack on the Combine Overworld, crippling their empire with one decisive blow (_to be clear, even without the G-man's help, the Combine would've lost to the Flood regardless. With the help of the G-man though, the Combine fell to them in weeks rather than decades_). The countless organic lifeforms in the Combine became food for the Parasite and became the bulk of the Gravemind's armies during the Great Flood War. After the Republic Supreme Commander wiped out the Flood at the end of the war, all the infected biomass was destroyed. Currently, the Universal Union no longer exists.

InterDimensional Alliance (IDA)

An alliance between the major governments of several universes, consisting of the Galactic Alliance, the Imperial Remnant, the Jedi Order, the UEG and UNSC, the Swords of Sangheilios, Citadel Space, the UCN (_Killzone)_, the Galactic Federation (_Metroid)_ and many other smaller factions. Some of these organizations, like the Terminus Systems and the Empire of the Hand, are considered to be part of IDA-controlled space, but are also considered to be their own factions with their own allegiance.

Despite having been founded years before the Republic or the Separatists, the IDA has lagged behind them considerably, scientifically, militarily and even socially. This is because the factions comprising the organization are considerably suspicious of one another. These tensions are only exacerbated by the machinations of intelligence groups like ONI and STG, who constantly seek ways to undermine each other, even after narrowly escaping extinction (_They do it all the time in their respective universes, even when it makes no sense, so why not here?), _and the prejudices of various species.

Eventually, two humans, who had both gained godlike powers, feeling frustrated with the state of the IDA, founded their own organizations in separate areas of space, which attracted a lot of support from disgruntled IDA citizens and outcast groups. Eventually, the Republic and the Separatists were formed and advanced at a rapid pace, until they stood above the rest of the multiverse. Clashing over differing ideologies, the two sides became embroiled in intergalactic and interdimensional war.

During the conflict, the IDA faced multiple incursions from the Separatists, though they were always repelled thanks to assistance from the Republic. Despite the diplomatic ties between the two, and the Republic's willingness to share some of its technology, the IDA still viewed the Republic with distrust, and distanced themselves from the two Intergalactic superpowers.

This changed when an IDA exploratory expedition encountered the Flood, letting the secrets of interdimensional transport leak into their grasp. Desperate, the IDA turned to both the Republic and the Separatists, who had joined forces immediately after the Flood had arrived.

When the Flood was destroyed, the IDA was left to rebuild, refusing the help of the Republic or Separatists except in the most dire of circumstances. Intelligence agencies have tried to infiltrate the two galactic superpowers, but such attempts have proven fruitless as they employ better intelligence services and internal security.

In more recent times, the IDA are content to let the two superpowers handle the Reapers, Necromorphs and reconstituted Flood, opting to focus on consolidating their own power.

IDA technology

The various factions of the InterDimensional Alliance are at differing stages in technological advancement, with various unique and powerful technology and weaponry that keep one faction from overly dominating the others.

The universe of the Citadel has advanced to a noticeable degree, with the deconstruction and reverse-engineering of the Reapers and their technology. While still not on par with the Reapers themselves, Citadel ships have grown more powerful and resilient, being able to stay in combat longer than they would previously and requiring less overall maintenance, while avoiding the overheating and static build up issues that had previously plagued their vessels (_Though in a straight up war, the individual factions of Metroid, Star Wars and Halo would still beat the crap out of them)_. On the ground, the mass effect based infantry weapons are still capable of significant damage, especially with unique ammo mods. The thermal clip system has been replaced with a hybrid of that, and the previous system. This means that one can keep up an assault if they have spare thermal clips, but if not, they can simply wait for the weapon to cool (_Frankly, that's what they should've done when reworking the ammo system to begin with)_. Also, Prothean Particle rifles and Geth weaponry has become more widespread in the galaxy since the end of the Reaper war. Kinetic barriers are still standard on the ground and in orbit, as the Citadel races have been unable to develop energy shielding. Likewise, more portable and powerful energy weapons (beside GARDIAN lasers) are still beyond their reach.

Since the end of the Human-Covenant war, the UNSC and Swords of Sangheilios have been advancing significantly on their own paths. The UNSC has been developing weaponry based on Forerunner hard light technology, with ammunition that has stopping power and the disintegrating effects of Forerunner hard light (_think the kinetic bolts for UNSC weapons in Halo 5's Warzone), _along with other unique advanced weaponry (_again, like the Warzone weapons of Halo 5)_. Unique hardlight shielding has become available to standard UNSC armed forces: though weak in comparison to the Energy Shields of MJOLNIR or even those of a Minor Sangheili, they can still withstand several bullets or plasma bolts before being depleted. The armor of UNSC infantry like the Marines and Army is slowly getting more advanced technology to aid in battle (_think like how Red vs. Blue uses theirs; it's not power armor (generally) but it provides more protection and battlefield equipment_). In terms of ships, the UNSC has been steadily rebuilding its navy, all equipped with energy shields and increasingly powerful MACs and missiles that are capable of tearing through Covenant ships with increased ease (when compared to before the war). Although the UNSC has yet to reach Forerunner levels of technology, they are coming closer to a Tier One level of advancement than anyone else in the IDA outside of the Republic and the Separatists.

In the Universe of the Force, technology has been advancing at a fairly slow pace, with some areas staying almost completely static (_though that does seem par for the course of Star Wars)_. Force-users have found that their powers are less effective (_though still very powerful_) outside of their universe, with the inhabitants of the Forerunner universe having the most resistance to the telekinetic effects (_an unintended side effect of Spartan augmentations make them even more resistant to Force powers, with Spartan-IIs being all but immune)_. The Galactic Alliance has made efforts to rebuild some of the more powerful pieces of technology pioneered by the Galactic Empire, with the exception of Imperial superweapons and immoral technology, due to the ethical and moral principles the Galactic Alliance and Imperial Remnant now share.

Diplomatic Relations

Despite the relatively peaceful events that led to the foundation of the InterDimensional Alliance, relations between the powers that make them up have been rather frosty. This has been nearly been exacerbated several times by rogue factions or the actions of intelligence services conducting espionage against the others (ONI and STG are especially bad at this), and have nearly broken out in war several times. These events were part of the reason that the Republic and Separatists were formed, ensuring resentment and envy towards the two superpowers from the rest of the IDA.

Due to their past history against both each other and their own internal conflicts, the UNSC and Swords of Sangheilios are looked upon as warmongers by the rest of the IDA, and are viewed with distrust due to the actions of ONI. The fact that the two governments neglected to warn anyone about the Flood furthered that distrust, despite Lord Hood and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam (quite rightly) pointing out that the other factions would just ignore their warnings and conduct their own experiments on the Flood, attempting to turn them into bioweapons (g_uess how well that works out?_). In particular, the Galactic Alliance and Galactic Federation are horrified by the willingness of the UNSC and Sangheili to reduce worlds to cinders in order to end conflicts quickly. The Jedi especially are disgusted by the nearly callous disregard for life, and are particularily afraid of the lethality and training of the Spartan supersoldiers. The Citadel Council views them with even more distrust, because of the above, and because of the UNSC's willingness to use AIs.

While some view the Galactic Alliance as an ideal model of a galactic government, more critical people regard them as almost completely ineffective at preventing wars, as well as allowing grudges between the membership species to fester. The UNSC and Swords of Sangheilios are particularily disappointed with how the government conducts relations, citing the Second Galactic Civil War and Natasi Daala's questionable term as Chief of State as examples of poor leadership. They are also leery of the Jedi, believing that an order of warrior monks with psychic powers having no accountability to the government as a disaster waiting to happen (which their history has born out several times). The Citadel Council is quietly terrified of the Alliance's powerful technology, vast territories and resources, and the Force abilities of the Jedi which make even the most powerful biotics seem pathetic by comparison. In contrast, the Galactic Federation looks upon the Galactic Alliance with a sense of comraderie, considering the similar ways their governments operated, though they have criticized the GA's effectiveness in interspecies tensions.

While the Galactic Alliance has a similar level of respect for the Galactic Federation as the latter has for them, they still criticize the Federation for how harshly they deal with their internal problems, while simultaneously concealing important details from their public. The UNSC and Sangheili are contemptous of the Federation's military capability, pointing out how their fleets were ineffective at safeguarding planets and ships from the raiding Space Pirates (and that was before they joined the Separatists) and their over reliance on Bounty Hunters to solve their problems (_Look at Aether: the Galactic Federation sent a bounty hunter to look for missing personnel, rather than actually sending their own search parties)_. The Citadel Council regards the Federation with caution and suspicion, due to some of the rather shady practices they have been involved (_while simultaneously ignoring their own hypocrisy, but what else is new?_), how Aurora Units run their government and military, and how their criminals and bounty hunters tend to be better armed than their military.

The Citadel Council is generally looked down on by everyone for their hypocrisy, badly concealed greediness, primitive (_in comparison to everyone else_) technology, and their general aura of stagnation and undeserved 'holier than thou' authority they operate with. The UNSC and Sangheili look down on how the Council handled the Batarian Hegemony, the unrestricted freedoms given to the Spectre operatives, almost institutionalized racism, and their active ignorance of the Reaper threat in spite of overwhelming evidence. In particular, the UNSC is forever at odds with the Council's stance on AIs, despite the fact that the Geth and the _Normandy's_ AI EDI played a vital role in ending the Reaper threat and have shown no hostility against the Council races. The Galactic Alliance was disappointed by how the Citadel Council actively let a member state get away with slavery, the government being run by a quartet of four species that hold all the power and their poor handling of the Reaper threat (_hypocrisy knows no bounds, since the GA has done the same for everything except for the four species that run everything_). The Jedi in particular are disappointed with the Council's willingness to let the Spectres get away with whatever they want, including legally murdering people who piss them off. The Galactic Federation have little respect for the Council, deeming them an inefficient bureaucracy with little effectiveness at getting things done (_noticing the pattern of hypocrisy here?_). They've also lost points with everyone else for their tendency to throw other species into the meat grinder to take the punishment for them (the Krogan during the Rachni wars, the Turians during the Krogan rebellions, the Quarians during the Geth war, and humanity during Saren's rampage, the Collector attacks and then the Reaper war), to the point where everyone calls them out on that, yet they still continue that trend.

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**I want to be clear; every faction in the IDA is basically at what their current tech level should be for their stories. Specifically, the Mass Effect universe has reverse-engineered some Reaper tech, but they aren't as powerful as the Reapers themselves. And the UNSC is at a similar tech level to creamofwheat2311's story Infinity Effect (if you've haven't read that, do so).**

**Now, I did this mainly because I didn't want to turn the current Halo universe factions into a ridiculously overpowered organization like most other stories do (my other two factions already exist for that purpose). Don't get me wrong, the UNSC and the Covenant are the most powerful groups in the IDA, but not to the extent where they can completely steamroll over the others. **


	5. Misc Information

**This chapter consists of miscellaneous information about the multiverse; including info about the Ancients, how some technology and beings interact around each other, what other worlds are part of the multiverse, etc. More information and worlds will probably be added to this chapter as I think of them.**

**Also, I've made some updates to the previous chapters since they were first released. The biggest change has been giving a basic explanation to the diplomatic relations between the members of the IDA in the previous chapter.**

**As always, author's notes are italicized in brackets.**

**Needless to say, I do not own any of the franchises mentioned in this chapter.**

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The Ancients

The Ancients are a group from ancient (_Duh_) times, consisting of several small groups of species from several different universes that knew about the machinations of the Flood. These groups apparently collaborated without informing their brethren and had even created rudimentary interdimensional transportation technology before halting all research and destroying it to keep the Flood from getting their hands on it. The known species that are confirmed to have membership in this faction are the Forerunners (_Halo_), the Chozo (_Metroid_), the Leviathans (_Mass Effect_) and the Rakata (_Star Wars_).

Species suspected to have their outliers as membership in the Ancients (_meaning I haven't yet decided who actually worked with them and who just were used to provide support without realizing who they were working for_) include; The Engineers (_better known as the Space Jockeys from Alien_), the Martians (_from Young Justice: the temple found on Mars in the Season 2 finale was found to have contained Forerunner symbols including the symbol for Reclaimer. I may make a story for that later_), the aquatic race from Tau Volantis or someone from earlier (_from Dead Space, which the Republic and Separatists learned about too late to stop the Gravemind from reconstituting itself among the Necromorph Brethren Moons_), the Great Beings (_from Bionicle; there might be another reason why they chose to build planet-sized giant robots and make the inhabitants of Spherus Magna and the Matoran Universe biomechanical_), the Kree (_from the MCU: __the experiments with Terragenesis may have also been intended to create soldiers to fight the Flood_) and more.

Some of these factions are suspected to have created their bioweapons with characteristics that have the secondary effect of combating the Flood: Xenomorphs are immune to direct infection due to the nature of their acidic blood, and Metroids were hardy enough that the Flood infection forms couldn't pierce their membrane (_which makes it a shame that Samus rendered the Metroids extinct... besides herself, obviously_). The very existence of the Parasite was known to have been a threat to the species of the multiverse, both before and after the time of the Ancients. The Flood have also caused a lot of changes to unaffiliated worlds: During the Great Flood War, the living world of Zonama Sekot vanished into hyperspace, taking the majority of the population with it. It has yet to be seen since. The living planet was aware of the Parasite's existence, and how the Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology was especially susceptible to the Flood's infection.

Fringes

Outside of the main areas of the multiverse, there exists the fringe universes often consisting of single worlds or star systems. The IDA barely pays any attention to most of these worlds (the ones that they know about anyway), but the Republic and Separatists are quite aware of some of these other universes, to the point where the Intelligence agents of the two superpowers have taken up a number of critical positions and act as eyes and ears for the two galaxies.

These universes include (but aren't limited to) the universe of the Infinity Stones (_from_ _the Marvel Cinematic Universe_), the world of Remnant (_from RWBY_), the isolated world of Sera (_from Gears of War_), the Earth of the Wizarding World (_from Harry Potter_), the multi-star system of 'the Verse' (_from Firefly_), the world of Elemental Bending (_from Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra_), the planet of Pandora (_from James Cameron's Avatar, not Borderlands. Sorry to disappoint but I don't plan on adding Borderlands to my multiverse any time soon_), the shattered Earth of Skyland (_from the cartoon also called Skyland_), the mountaintop world of Atmos (_from the Storm Hawks_), the Earth of the undead Walkers (_from the Walking Dead, seen in my story _'The Butcher or the Cattle' _if you're interested_), the Earth of the Blackwood Mountain Wendigos (_from Until Dawn and as seen in _AVP: Until Dawn), the four worlds of the Quad (_from Killjoys_) and many more.

Quite a few of these worlds are often used as Hunting Grounds for the Yautja or dumping/experimental grounds for Weyland-Yutani's feral Xenomorphs, mainly to avoid diplomatic incidents with the IDA, who are quite frosty towards the former (_for fairly obvious and understandable reasons: even if they're working for the Republic and now generally go after people who deserve to die, the Predators are still murderous alien hunters who kill sentient life for sport_), and especially hostile and barely tolerant of the latter (_most of the IDA regards their use of Xenomorphs as unforgivable, while the rest want to know how Wey-Yu and the Separatists managed to raise an army of obedient xenomorphs that they could reliably command, while not having to resort to killing thousands of test subjects to make such a large force_). Because of this, the Predators and the Company have often come into conflict in these fringes, unintentionally drawing the inhabitants of these worlds into their struggles.

In addition to these worlds, the fringe also consists of minor regions of space where even the Shadow Collective can barely be bothered to go. Compared to the vast lawlessness of places like the Terminus Systems or the Outer Rim, these areas are barely considered to be significant to the IDA. As such, it is rumored that some of the Remnants of old enemies have hidden here after their defeats in the Great Flood War: including scattered single Yuuzhan Vong warships, single Reaper ships that are unaffected by the Flood logic plague, the remains of the Insurrection, scattered Covenant Remnants and more. Lately some of these locations in the fringes have been attacked by probing strikes from the Flood. These attacks are usually repulsed by the efforts of the Republic and the Separatists.

Powers and Interactions

The inhabitants of the Forerunner universe are currently the main universe where actual telekinetic, telepathic and magic powers are non-existent among the mainstream population of their universe (_outside of the Flood/Precursors of course_). Because of this, the inhabitants have a general resistance/immunity to telekinetic and telepathic powers while magic doesn't really affect anything from there for long. Forerunner technology (_and Precursor technology, until it was all destroyed anyway_) especially is quite immune to the effects of magic powers (with Forerunner hard light being completely immune to Wizarding World magic), and the inhabitants of this universe are extremely resistant to the mental and psychokinetic powers given by the Force, biotics, and magic (_both from Metroid and Harry Potter, though they've never actually had to test the latter_). Strangely enough, the SPARTAN supersoldiers have an unintended side effect of increasing said resistance even further. This effect is decreased for each successive generation (_meaning the SPARTAN-IIs have the highest resistance, with IIIs and IVs getting lower_), and also extends a few inches away from their skin (_so they can't be crushed inside their armor, though that's not to say that throwing objects at them at high speeds won't hurt them)_. That said, energy blasts caused by magic or the Force (_ie Force lightning_) do have a much better effect on them than just straight up telekinetic attacks.

Another species that has evolved a resistance to psychic powers includes the Predators, though it's still lower than the universe of the Forerunners. The inhabitants of Universe-16 are not quite immune to such powers, but their own powers are capable of affecting other universes rather well. Furthermore, the meta-gene from Earth-16 has been found in everyone in the population: while not all of the population has latent metahuman powers, the gene is still prevalent enough that, when combined with extensive training (_like the type most of the nonpowered superheroes and supervillains go through_), increases their strength, speed, stamina and durability to above normal levels. While this is hard to notice within their own universe, when compared with others, they are effectively low-level superhumans (_only Spartans and Jedi have reflexes and strength that surpass non-superpowered people from Earth-16, and even then, not by nearly the same extent as they do against other universes_), which when combined with the energy shield generators provided by the Republic and Separatists, makes them among the most dangerous threats in the multiverse (_it doesn't hurt that the costumes they wear are hard to take seriously, causing their opponents to underestimate them_).

The technology of the Chozo, Luminoth, Bryyonians and all the advanced species from the Galactic Federation universe are almost completely immune to magic (_magic is stated to exist in the Metroid universe, and the Chozo themselves are all but outright stated to be technomancers_), and can function even in completely magical environments like Hogwarts or the Ministry of Magic. This type of magic-immune technology has become very widespread among the forces of the Republic and Separatists, as well as weapons that are capable of taking on (and killing) magical enemies that are normally immune to conventional weapons (_Samus' weapons are capable of destroying Chozo Ghosts in Metroid Prime, and a Space Pirate log in the same game implies that the Pirates have weapons that can do the same. And that's not even talking about the abilities of Phantoon and Phazon..._), which affords an extra edge in the Wizarding World and Earth-16.

Humans

One of the greatest mysteries of the known multiverse is why humans seem to be the one constant among the massive variances between universes. (_Of all the universes currently in my multiverse, the only one I can think of without humans as central characters is Bionicle, and even then, it's still implied that humans exist beyond Spherus Magna and the Matoran Universe_) This question has been a great source of curiousity among scientists and philosophers in every universe, and it was initially theorized that the Precursors had something to do with it. However, later evidence revealed that the Precursors who travelled out of their home universe were shocked to find humans developing concurrently to their own universe, without any outside influence or creation. It is believed that this is at least part of the reason the Precursors chose humanity to attain the Mantle in their own universe.

Amongst current inhabitants of the multiverse, reactions have been mixed: while the major governments of the IDA officially have no issue with the multiple human governments, there are a number of species who fear humans spreading and dominating the rest of the multiverse. Anti-human groups often spread messages of hate and encouragement to rise against human governments, while pro-human groups encourage the humans of the multiverse to rise up and cast off the influence of alien species. The vast majority of the multiverse however, really doesn't care all that much, as most just want to get on with their lives.

The Republic and Separatists especially do not care about human dominance, and are quite willing to let anyone join them, no matter the species. Critics of the two interdimensional superpowers have pointed out that both the Republic and the Separatists are essentially run by human dictators, but civilians within both have retorted that they are still advised by and work with leaders of multiple species, and the two godlike beings have reportedly stated that they "are no longer just human." (_And considering how powerful they are, they really aren't_) They have however, been studying some of the curious nature of human beings, including how humans are the only species that seem to actually develop or gain vastly different superpowers from a variety of sources (_and I'm not talking like how Kryptonians, Martians or Asgardians, for instance all have similar superpowers, but rather how humans gain power from all over the spectrum; from super speed to super strength, from controlling elements to flat out magic, humans are the only ones that can gain superpowers of all types and from a variety of sources_), specifically as a scientific curiousity (which the IDA itself isn't very aware of).

However, the Republic has found a way to grant elemental powers to various species, specifically through the technology of the Great Beings. This is mainly because the inhabitants of Spherus Magna were never human and are completely biomechanical. However the process isn't perfect: Besides an extensive psychological screening process (_for obvious reasons_), the Republic is limited to only granting elemental powers to their soldiers (_and very rarely, civilians. For construction purposes and whatnot_) and nothing else (_which considering the extensive list of elemental powers from the Matoran Universe, is still considerable_). Furthermore, actually acquiring these powers require extensive cybernetic enhancements, and are considerably weaker and more taxing than the powers of a Toa or a Glatorian. The only way to even come close to gaining that level of power is to essentially replace their entire body with biomechanical cybernetics (_which, understandably, few actually want to do_). Because of this, the procedure is completely voluntary, and the total amount of people who have gained elemental powers are less than one percent of the Republic's total population.

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**One aspect that I can explore with the multiverse is the fact that the differences are more than just political, technological and such: There are likely deep underlying metaphysical aspects that would separate the populations of different universes. Even among humanity, those differences would be huge, and without interaction to compare them, you would never be able to tell the difference.**

**Oh and if anyone's going to complain about how things like the Force and Harry Potter magic are nerfed against others, see my point above, and just be amazed that it affects other universes at all. Considering that wizarding magic and the Force don't actually exist outside their respective universes, the fact that they even exist, let alone work in another universe is nothing short of miraculous unto itself. Frankly, I'm giving them more power than they really should be able to use.**

**Regardless, I am taking a lot of artistic liberties here. If anyone has any questions about any aspect from this, don't hesitate to review or PM me and I'll answer it as best as I can.**


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